


freezer burn

by mochacreams



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Developing Relationship, F/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Pokemon Training, Relationship Study, Slow Burn, Snippets, a little bit of a divergence? but mostly me mixing canon together with headcanon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:35:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22720342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mochacreams/pseuds/mochacreams
Summary: She remembered hearing somewhere, vaguely, that Darumaka were originally Unovan.Was it…on one of those educational programs that Gordie used to watch on the telly when he was little? Certainly, those kinds of shows had provided many hours of background noise to her cooking…While living in Galar’s cold climate and snowy areas, its fire sac eventually cooled and atrophied.It was strange, because personally Melony couldn’t picture them as any type other than Ice.Kabu, Melony, and how a little Darumaka leads them to grow closer than they ever thought possible.
Relationships: Kabu/Melon | Melony
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21





	freezer burn

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to post this on valentine's because im cheesy lmao.
> 
> i have this all planned out but not all written yet, so we'll see when it updates. i'm mostly just writing this in between commissions.

* * *

**I.**

She remembered hearing somewhere, vaguely, that Darumaka were originally Unovan.

Was it…on one of those educational programs that Gordie used to watch on the telly when he was little? Certainly, those kinds of shows had provided many hours of background noise to her cooking…

_While living in Galar’s cold climate and snowy areas, its fire sac eventually cooled and atrophied._

It was strange, because personally Melony couldn’t picture them as any type other than Ice. Seeing photos side-by-side of the crimson and gold Unovan Darumaka and the furry, white and aqua Galarian Darumaka just reinforced this opinion. Growing up with so many of the little things hanging around Circhester didn’t make her think of them as an invasive species in the first place; if you asked her, it looked like Galar’s regional form was meant to be the original one. That burnt red color just…didn’t suit it. Or perhaps that was just her bias talking.

But in reality, Darumaka were from the dusty, hot sands of the Desert Resort. Just saying the name of it made Melony’s tongue go dry and her whole body burn up in an itchy sweat. She imagined that there were constant sandstorms and piles of dunes covering the entirety, and that it was nothing like a heavenly resort which it was named after. At least, this was what she could gather from the descriptions Gordie had relayed to her when he’d come back home just shy of a month ago. You had to wear goggles when traversing the place, and he’d also said something about a buried castle that held old fossils and relics, as well as Rock and Ground-types. Really, it sounded like a completely unwelcoming wasteland.

The snow-capped mountains and sparkling ice fields and frozen lakes of Galar’s north— _those_ were majestic locations befitting of such a cute pokemon. 

Considering all of the history behind Darumaka, Melony found it quite ironic that one had wandered into her camp when she’d been making _spicy_ curry of all things. Salad mix was thrown in with the curry, and there was just a bit of Moomoo cheese sprinkled in—but of course, some cosmic irony concerning its former Fire-type had to make it favor the spicy variety. It wasn’t even a flavor that her pokemon liked, but simply one she thought of on a whim to try out; and being that it was _her_ cooking, it certainly did taste scrumptious even for a first attempt.

The little thing began curiously sniffing the air at first, hopping closer on its stumpy little legs. Melony had been so busy crouching down and spooning a pile of curry into her Eiscue’s bowl that she hadn’t even noticed. That was, until it poked her in the thigh with its three-pronged hand (also small and stubby like its legs) and she yelped in surprise, wobbly standing back up. It had an icy touch, chilling the spot where it had nudged her. 

She rubbed the spot where Darumaka had made contact, and then glanced down at the little bugger. Eiscue even stopped eating to tilt its head sideways, observing it, while Frosmoth made a few confused chirps as it fluttered its translucent wings.

“Hey there!” Melony cooed, waving her gloved hand. She bent over slightly, crouching to Darumaka’s level. The pokemon looked up at her with its wide eyes and perpetual frown. Though at her soothing voice, it bounced around slightly from foot to foot, like it was dancing. Except that Darumaka was short and spherical, meaning it looked more humorous than anything.

And that part wasn’t lost on Melony; she gave a deep, hearty laugh at it for a few moments, watching while pressing her hands together in pride. “Oh, you’re a cute one!” She gave a lively smile that glittered like the fresh snowfall. Frosmoth flew about happily and Eiscue clapped its flippers, both sensing the mood of their trainer. “You want some curry too, don’t you?”

Darumaka jumped up and down (as much as it could) in response, and like a mother picking up her child Melony scooped it into her arms in one quick motion. “There, there, I bet you’re hungry. That must be why the scent lured you in.” The stark whiteness of its fur seemed to draw Melony in, making her stare at just how bright it was. But the fur itself was fuzzy and warm, something she was sure Unovan Darumaka lacked. The icy jewels on its chest made it look like a snowman, and were cold to the touch; it had similar ones that looked like eyebrows on its face.

Her narrow, soft fingers rose and patted Darumaka’s head, making its eyes close as it winced slightly from the content. That made a content giggle brush through her lips. A small picnic table was set up nearby—after all, she often went to this part of Circhester’s outskirts to train and then relax—so she sat down on its bench, placing Darumaka in her lap. Frosmoth hovered close, curiosity plaguing it; its compound bug-eyes watched them, awaiting Melony’s next action, shimmering almost threateningly.

“Oh, I can’t forget about you. I’ll feed you both, so don’t worry.” On the ground near them, Eiscue stayed quiet as ever, guzzling down the curry like penguins would with fish. Without its ice block face, it was quite goofy looking, and even a bit aloof in nature. “Eiscue’s doing her own thing, so it’ll only be you two this time,” uttered Melony, but it was more like she was streamlining her thoughts aloud.

A big pot of the fresh curry sat in the center of the table. She grabbed the nearest silver spoon off the closest napkin and dipped it into the bowl, picking up a good helping of curry with lettuce and spinach leaves on top. The first bite went to Darumaka, but it took a few tries before it figured out what was going on. The metal pressed against its dark blue mouth until Melony finally coaxed it to open up. But it understood the rhythm soon enough; the next spoonful she held up for Frosmoth, who buzzed down a bit lower in order to reach.

It was funny, because the whole situation reminded her of when she would spoon-feed her own three youngest. The triplets were going on five now, so it had been quite a while ago since she’d done it—but somehow, it remained recent in her mind. She often liked to spoil those three more than the eldest two, which they were inclined to bring up whenever they were feeling playfully spiteful. Ah, it was something she couldn’t help but do to her pokemon team, either. League season started in a week’s time, so they ought to be properly attended to while she could manage it. Come to think of it, she’d have to bring out Lapras into the waters of route 9 soon, actually.

“So, what do you say?” interrupted Melony sweetly, when half the curry was finished and Frosmoth and Darumaka had both had their fill. Her sudden speaking made Darumaka stare up at her, and she swiftly took it off her lap and set it down on the bench seat next to her. “Would you like to join my team? I’d love to have you!”

Darumaka tilted its head, as if considering the offer. Then, it tilted the other way. Its deep, black pupils stared into her face, but Melony’s features remained bright and warm all the same. _Welcoming_. Somehow, that frown on its face momentarily turned upward into a smile, and it bounced from foot to foot. 

Positively delighted, Melony shuffled off the bench and crouched down to Darumaka’s level again, gently rubbing its head. She produced an Ultra Ball from her bag—a dull grey color with white wavy accents—and held it in both her palms. The empty ball was held out like a peace treaty, and Darumaka gently tapped its head against the small center button. A red light beamed it inside.

One shake.

Two shakes.

Three shakes.

Four shakes.

Then a resounding click.

* * *

The universe decided to give her even more cosmic irony.

As it turned out, this particular Darumaka was deathly afraid of the water, as if it were a Fire-type fearing its flame would be doused out. She found this out when she attempted to give it its first bath. ‘Attempted’ was the key word, because it had made a fuss and climbed all over her just to avoid the tub. How unfortunate, because she was planning on pairing it up with her Lapras for doubles once she’d trained it to battle-ready perfection. 

Another quirk it apparently had was being drawn to every open flame it could find and throwing itself into it. Melony had caught it standing on the stove several times when she was boiling soup broth, attempting to happily stick its little hands under the pot and onto the burner. When she ran in and caught it she’d nearly cried; a few seconds later and she’d be taking it to the Pokemon Center overnight for second degree burns.

The obvious solution would be to quit letting Darumaka out in the house, and save it for battles or the Wild Area, but it wasn’t so easy. Simply put, league season was approaching and her official team was registered and regulated a few months prior already. No swapping or move-changing was further allowed, which meant she wouldn’t be able to bond with it normally during training, as that was reserved for Frosmoth, Eiscue, Mr. Rime, and Lapras. The only way they’d grow closer besides that was to live together, and so…

Well, Melony didn’t have time to dwell on the fact. So what if it caused some trouble around the house? Her little ones did that too—threefold, in their case. And with her severe style, she could surely train it into a strong, obedient little thing in no time. Until then, it’d stay unevolved, though she had hopes of using Darmanitan next season.

Even _she_ shivered at the thought of a giant ape causing a ruckus in her home (that would be the only thing worse than a baby pokemon giving her a run for her money).

Besides its fixation on fire, this thing was much more inclined to smile—which might sound silly, but the Darumaka that she grew up with only frowned, never smiled. It was much more lively than the ones that hung around the Circhester streets, looking more like the Unovan ones. Much more upbeat, like that fire sac in its belly hadn’t completely atrophied. She’d have to do more research into it, and only one man came to mind that would be able to help her with such a case.

Every year, the opening ceremony was held in _his_ stadium—Motostoke Stadium—and this year was, of course, no different. A perfect opportunity for her to act on her best laid plans, and maybe get some proper insight to these Fire-type tendencies her little Darumaka was fascinated by.

Everything went smoothly, as per normal; Melony repeated the same walk and wave along the pitch that she’d been doing for twenty years like it was muscle memory, and it probably was. There was no shortage of excited fans, but she noted the lineup to be rather… _disappointing_. A weak bunch, they were, and not a lot of them. She personally doubted Raihan would face any of them in Hammerlocke Stadium. 

Her smile was picture-perfect, but if one looked closely it held an unnerving aura—holding back the stress at having something akin to a baby messing up every corner of her house. At least now, though, it was tucked away inside its ball atop her dresser. The woman couldn’t help but subconsciously eye Kabu throughout the whole ceremony, contemplating her approach. Or maybe it was just the excitement of the possible relief he could provide.

The challengers left, the cheers died down, and with Chairman Rose’s and Leon’s exit, the gym leaders followed suit. As such, Melony hung around the hallway leading to the pitch, waiting for Kabu, her arms hugging her waist. She pressed back against the cool wall, just a few feet ahead of the locker room doors. Patient, yet eager inside. 

The rest of the leaders had left long ago; she imagined Kabu only stayed since this was technically _his_ locker room and he no doubt had spare clothes to change into there. The others were certainly en route to their gyms to prep for the challengers that would inevitably flood in tomorrow. That was something Melony envied about leaders like Milo, Nessa, and Kabu: They got to face most, if not all, of the challengers before they started getting picked off.

Minutes passed, and Kabu stalked out with his overcoat on—trench-coat-length, and full black with a bold red stripe on the hem and one going down the side of the sleeves. It was tied closed at his waist, so she couldn’t make out his choice of casual clothes underneath. But they were familiar enough with each other, so if she had to guess she’d say it was still something sporty, but in a refined design. The double doors slammed shut behind him.

A spark ran through her and she lifted herself off the wall, clearing her throat before flagging him down. “Kabu, can you spare a moment?” It broke the quiet of the corridor. He twirled around to face her, expression screaming that he hadn’t registered her presence. “I promise it won’t be long~”

“Oh, Melony?” And he blinked as she approached, though his lips turned from a blank line to a warm smile. “I didn’t think you’d still be here. What is it?” 

“Right. Well,” and she took a deep breath, “last week I was out in Circhester, when this Darumaka wandered into my little camp I’d set up while I was making curry. In all my years, I’ve never seen it happen before!”

“I’ve heard of that phenomena before. Although it’s rare, it’s not impossible for that to happen,” Kabu offered, tilting his head to the side. “But I follow so far.”

“Mmm. This one…” Melony placed her hands on her hips at a sharp angle. “She’s not like normal Darumaka. At least not the ones from Galar. Which is the problem, you see.”

Kabu’s eyebrows perked up at this, suddenly curious. “What makes you say that?” He seemed like he wanted to prod more, but left it at that. 

“I’ll be frank with you, Kabu, this thing’s… She’s got this strange fascination with fire, to the point where she’s putting herself in danger.” A sigh she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in let out, expelling some hot air while her lips scowled. “And so I was thinking, it’s probably because of how Darumaka have evolved into Ice-types here, when they’d been Fire-types before. Do you know anything related to that?”

The man looked stunned into silence, even his eyes growing a little wider. “That’s… _interesting_.” 

Melony snapped out of her brief emotional and regained her composure, thereafter waving her hands apologetically. “Oops! I didn’t mean to unload all of that on you at once!”

“No, no, it’s alright.” He quietly cleared his throat, like he was trying to hide it. “I do know that they’re an outside species brought in a long time ago, like you said. That kind of behavior, though… I’ve never seen it among the invasive pokemon here. Not that I’ve been in Galar as long as a native like you, of course.” Kabu gave another cough. “I can see how stressed you must be about it,” he added as an aside.

“Jeez, how could you tell?” she replied sarcastically, running a hand through her front hair piece. Melony knew very well how on-edge she must’ve sounded right now. It wasn’t like she couldn’t handle misbehavior—she was a mother of five, after all—but it was the fact that she had no clue what was going on with her little Darumaka. It was much more than simply immaturity and lack of training, it almost seemed to be a primal urge. “I just don’t know what to do about her, so I was hoping—“

“—That I could help you with its Fire-type tendencies?”

“ _Yes_!” The words came out pointedly, but she hadn’t triumphed just yet. “Fire-types are too wild, and well, _fiery_. Nothing like how calm, cool, and collected my Ice-types are.”

She heard some kind of flippant noise from him as he shook his head wearily. Although, he looked the furthest from offended, more like mildly amused. “In other words, you’re distressed that you can’t handle them?”

“Don’t say it like _that_ , Kabu. It’s more like… Ah, that I’m inexperienced with Fire-types.”

“You’re very set in your ways, Melony.” More of an observation, really, with the way he’d said it—hell, everyone would probably describe her that way, anyhow—but it stung a little bit in the background of her mind. Only for a second, though. “But I think I might be able to help. Maybe open your eyes a little bit?”

“We’ll see,” she replied briskly, immediately going on the defense. She had to admit the comment still made her brow twitch briefly, until she shook her head. “Darmanitan has Zen Mode, after all, so it would be useful for me to learn how to be more… _adaptable_ to proper Fire techniques.” And then a realization popped into her head at once, making her features go alight. “Ah, come to think of it, maybe that’s why she acts the way she does.”

“Mmm, Zen Mode Darmanitan are rare, so it wouldn’t be entirely out of the question…” Kabu’s hand raised to stroke his chin, considering the thought. The line of thinking seemed reasonable, but they’d only the answer once Darumaka evolved and they got a proper battle out of it. “Could I see her?”

“Well… She’d not exactly on-hand right now.” Why did the revelation embarrass her so much? Thankfully that embarrassment didn’t show so much on the outside. “I might’ve…taken the wrong Ultra Ball this morning, so Darumaka’s in my bedroom at home.”

And that was what got a deep laugh out of him. Loud, but contained so it wasn’t perceived as ill-mannered. Melony considered for a moment saying something cold to cut him off, but his laugh was cute, so it was permissible. The chuckling subsided as quickly as it started, and Kabu explained, “Sorry, it’s just— That’s not like you _at all_.”

She shrugged her shoulders almost a bit threateningly. “I’m glad you find it amusing.” Despite everything, she had to let that grumpy little comment slip out. This was the cosmic justice she needed right now. “It would be better if you came over and saw her with your Fire-types, anyhow. If you don’t mind, I should say.”

“Of course, but— I’ll have my share of challengers for the next week or so, being that the season’s just started and all.”

“Mmm, that’s what I mean! You’re always welcome, so stop by whenever you breeze through all those challengers and we can sort all of this out.” Did she sound too eager? Too excited? What was with all her internal self-analyzing and critiquing lately anyway? “Just give me a call beforehand.”

“Noted.” There was a final, curt nod from Kabu and he tightened the coat’s tie at his narrow waist, a small grin appearing on his face again. And…there seemed to still be crinkles underneath his eyes from when he’d been laughing, or maybe that was Melony’s imagination. “Then I’ll see you soon.”

They parted ways.

**Author's Note:**

> take a shot every time i write darumaka
> 
> anyway thank u for reading ☆ this isn't really beta'd so let me know if there are any horrible typos. here's [my twitter](https://twitter.com/TOGEKlSSU) if you feel inclined to follow there or shoot something my way
> 
> ♡[comms/donations](https://ko-fi.com/mochacreams)♡


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